At first he sexually assaulted her, then as she got older he raped her.

“Everyone could see there was something wrong with me but he was my cousin, and he came across as a good and decent person.”

Her cousin would volunteer to babysit – no one suspected he was a paedophile.

Neela said: “I didn’t realise what was happening. I was so young and so scared.”

Her teachers picked up that she was troubled and went to her home to check that there were no family problems.

Her family were loving but couldn’t seem to reach her.

Neela said: “I was too scared to say anything because I had been threatened by my cousin that I would be the one who would get in trouble.”

Her cousin’s mother walked in to the room as she was being abused but said nothing to her.

Neela added: “I don’t know why she said nothing.”

It wasn’t until sex education lessons at school that she finally understood what was happening.

“When I confronted him he said it was my fault, that I had made him do it,” she said.

Neela was trapped and scared, and it was only when the family moved to Glasgow that she was able to escape her cousin.

Three years ago, she had a breakdown and told her family.

They believed her, suddenly realising why she had always seemed so troubled. Her cousin was reported to the police and after an investigation he was charged with 13 offences against a number of boys and girls.

Her immediate family were supportive but other relatives complained they were “naming and shaming” the family.

She began to doubt herself but a leader at a mosque told her she was doing the right thing. However, the trial made her question her choice.

She said: “So much mud was thrown on my family. I felt ashamed and degraded.”

Her abuser was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years.

She said: “A lot of people still say I did the wrong thing. They think I have hurt his family.

“They can understand his family’s pain but not mine.”

Neela still has nightmares about it. She added: “People are in denial. They can’t believe it could happen in a Muslim community. It does happen in our society, just like any other part of society.”